Sarah
by Paragon Dragon
Summary: Sequel to Coffee and Sawdust. Gibbs and Tony are going to an orphanage to adopt a child, but Tony has doubts about if he's up to the task to become a parent. At least at first. SLASH
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and settings belongs to their rightful owners. This story is for entertainment only. No money is being made.

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**Chapter 1**

Tony woke up from his nap on the couch when the phone suddenly started to ring. He sat up with a groan and was just about to go and pick up when Gibbs appeared from the basement and gave him mischievous grin.

"I've got it, sleepy head", he said as he reached the phone. "Seriously, even a turtle is faster than you."

Tony snickered sarcastically at his lover and got up from the couch. He stretched his stiff limbs, yawned and then went to the kitchen to make some coffee. The smell of the powder brought a faint smile to his lips as he poured it into the percolator. Tony would forever associate coffee with Gibbs, even though he would never be as addicted to the bitter brew as Gibbs was.

He yawned widely again and leaned against the counter while he waited for the coffee to brew. He could hear Gibbs' muffled voice and by the tone of it, Tony could tell that something had upset him. He frowned and wondered what it could be when Gibbs hung up and got into the kitchen.

"Come on, we gotta go", he said and beckoned Tony to get a move on before he disappeared again.

"What is it?" Tony yelled after him. "We got a new case?"

"Just get your cute ass out here, will ya!"

Tony sighed and turned the coffeemaker off before going out to the hall, where Gibbs impatiently waited for him by the door. He grabbed his coat from the hanger and then the two men headed out to the car.

"So where are we going?" Tony asked as he got into the passenger seat and buckled up.

"Oh, you'll see", Gibbs said as he drove off, shooting a secretive smile a the younger man.

"Come on, Jet! You know how much I hate surprises", Tony replied with a dark scowl, which only made his lover chuckle.

"Not this one, Tone. Trust me. You will definitely not hate this one."

Tony frowned but decided to drop it. He knew that Gibbs wouldn't reveal anything about this master plan of his, so it was useless to even try. He slumped down into the seat with a sigh and closed his eyes, figuring that he might just as well finish his nap while they were driving. He was just about to fall asleep again when he felt a light push on his shoulder.

"Hey, stay with me, Tony. It's a long drive and it'll be no fun for me if you sleep all the way."

"So turn on the radio", Tony muttered without opening his eyes and tried to roll over on his side. A familiar slap to the back at his head made him turn around to give his lover a rebuking look.

"I thought we agreed on that you'd never do that again."

"Only on special occasions", Gibbs reminded him.

"What's so special about this occasion?"

"I told you, you'll see. Now stay awake."

"Yes, Boss."

Gibbs gave Tony his famous death-glare, but that just made Tony smile.

"That's not working on me any more, you know", he reminded the silver-haired man.

Gibbs shrugged and let his features relax again. "It was worth a shot."

"Yeah, right..."

They left DC and drove for several hours before Gibbs finally left the interstate. Shortly after he turned onto a smaller road and it didn't take long before they passed a colorful sign which told them that it was ten miles to Rainbow Orphanage. Tony glanced at the sign and then turned to the older man.

"Jet, why are we on a road leading to an orphanage?" he asked suspiciously.

"What do you think we're doing on a road leading to an orphanage?"

"Is it a new case?"

"Tony, do you really think I'd keep this a secret if it had anything to do with a case?"

"No, maybe not. But seriously, Jet. What are doing here?"

"Because we have been invited to the orphanage. It was they who called earlier. They have accepted us, Tony. We are going to be parents."

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tony couldn't do anything but stare at Gibbs for a long time, letting his words slowly sink in as the realization of it hit him.

"We're going to adopt?" he asked, giving his lover a disbelieving look.

"Yeah", Gibbs said and gave Tony an affectionate smile. "We can finally raise a family."

I bright smile lit up Tony's face and a happy laughter escaped his throat. They were going to be parents! He and Gibbs had waited for this for so long. Before Gibbs, Tony had never really thought much about getting children since he felt so awkward around them, not knowing how to act really, and he had never exactly thought that a child could fit in in his life. But all that changed when Gibbs became his. Tony found himself settling down, both physically and mentally. He calmed down a little, got more grounded, as Gibbs became the steady rock in his life he had needed for so long, without even realizing it himself. Suddenly the thought of raising a child didn't sound so bad after all, and he knew how much Gibbs liked them.

But the thought had terrified him at first, still did sometimes. Tony knew nothing about raising children and the thought of screwing up almost made him tremble with fear. After much discussion back and forth with himself he'd finally brought his troubles up with his other half, almost afraid that Gibbs would laugh at him and telling him that he was stupid, but Gibbs had done none of that. He'd just looked Tony straight in the eyes with a thoughtful look on his face and then he had smiled at Tony, that ice-melting, lopsided, affectionate smile of his that made the younger man forget about all his worries and know that he was not alone anymore, and then they had sat down together on the couch and talked.

Gibbs had told Tony about his own fears about becoming a father when he and Shannon had expected Kelly. That he, too, had been terrified out of his wits when it came to raise a child. It wasn't often the gruff ex-marine talked about his past, so Tony had listened carefully and given the older man his silent support whenever the memories brought the pain of losing them back to the surface. They talked for hours, well into the wee hours of the morning, and afterwards Tony was feeling a lot better, confident that they would pull through, as long as they did it together.

"This is amazing", Tony said with a somewhat dreamy voice. "Are you sure this is really happening?"

"I'm sure. Right now, you and I are going to Rainbow Orphanage to meet our future son or daughter. In just a couple of months time, we are going to be parents. It _is _really happening, Tony."

Tony's smile got even wider and Gibbs couldn't help but laugh at him. He took the younger man's hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. That smile reflected how he felt himself and his heart still took leaps of joy when he thought about the phone call and the happy news that he and Tony could come to the orphanage and meet the children, see if they found someone they could consider to help and guide through life. Gibbs was sure that he and Tony would find their child today. He could feel it in his guts as well as in his heart.

"Are you ready, Tony?" he asked and gave the younger man's hand another squeeze.

**TBC**

"I'm ready", Tony said and looked at Gibbs with sparkling eyes. "I don't think I've ever been more ready than this."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A couple of minutes later they drove through the gates to an estate that only could be described as a mansion, complete with a huge, beautiful park with vast, green fields, big gardens and beautiful oak trees that lined the road up to the house. They saw children everywhere, running around chasing each other, playing soccer, climbing trees, laughing and shouting like there were no troubles at all in the world.

"What kind of orphanage is this?" Tony asked as he looked around with a skeptic frown. "Is it for rich kids only?"

Gibbs laughed and shook his head.

"No, not at all", he said. "I've been told that the house and all the land surrounding it once belonged to this extremely rich old lady who loved children, and when she died, she wanted her house to be turned into an orphanage and donated all her money to help children in need. Some of the kids here have already had their fair share of bad experiences."

"You mean, like abuse?"

"Yes. Some have even been in the system for a while before they ended up here."

"So this is their last stop?"

"Only if no one is willing to adopt them."

"Well, it's a good thing then that we will do exactly that, then."

"It is, Tony. It is."

Some of the children stopped whatever they were doing and stared after the car. Others were trying to run alongside it, waving excitedly at the two men. Gibbs laughed heartily and waved back before glancing at Tony. The younger man was looking out the window on his side with his brow lightly furrowed, his eyes seemingly scanning the children he saw as if he was looking for someone. Gibbs sighed and put a hand on Tony's thigh, rubbing it lightly.

"Soon one of them will be ours", he said quietly.

Tony flinched and gave him a surprised look, and then a wide smile appeared on his lips. "Yeah..."

They parked the car on a small parking lot right outside the big house. It didn't take long before a horde of children ran over to the two men, followed more reservedly by one of their care takers, a young woman in her older twenties. The children stopped a few steps away and let the woman approach the two men alone while they whispered to each other and eyed the strangers curiously.

"Hi", the care taker said as she got closer and smiled brightly, holding out her hand. "You must be Mr. Gibbs and Mr. DiNozzo?"

"Yes, we are", Gibbs said and took the offered hand in his. "I'm Jethro Gibbs and this is my partner, Tony DiNozzo."

"Rose Thatcher", the woman introduced herself and shook hands with Tony as well. "I believe that you've been contacted by Mark Hansen. Is that correct?"

"It is", Gibbs said with a smile. "Why?"

"Well, he's asked me to show you to his office as soon as you got here, so if you please follow me, I'll take you to him."

Rose took the two agents inside the huge building and a couple of minutes later they were shown inside a small office. A middle-aged man with black, gray streaked hair and thick glasses was sitting behind the desk, going through some files. He was so focused on what he was reading that he didn't notice that he had company until Rose cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Mark, Mr. Gibbs and DiNozzo are here now", she said when he looked up and confusingly blinked at her.

"Ah, I see", he said when he noticed the two men. "Thank you, Rose."

Rose gave him a quick smile before she turned around and left the room. The social worker stood up from his chair and walked around the desk to greet Tony and Gibbs. The three men introduced themselves and then Mark returned to his chair and Gibbs and Tony sat down in front of it. They watched as Mark re-stacked his files before he leaned forward and looked intently at the two before him.

"So, are you excited?" he asked and smiled.

"Oh, yeah", Tony said with a grin. "I can hardly believe that we're even here."

"You better start to believe it, Mr. DiNozzo. Before you know it, you'll be holding your son or daughter in your arms. It's just a matter of time now."

"Please, just call us Gibbs and Tony", Tony said with a pained grimace. "None of us is really comfortable with being called 'mister'."

"As you wish", Mark said with a smile. "Then I insist that you call me Mark. Well, as you probably know, this orphanage is the last chance for many of our children, since it's also a group foster home. Some children have been shipped between foster homes a long time before they ended up here. Most of them have experienced things that no one should go through, and all of us who work here want all the children to come to a home where they will be loved and cared for, without being afraid to be abandoned again. Do you think you can provide all that?"

"We don't think so, Mark", Gibbs said with great determination in his voice. "We know so."

"Jet's right", Tony added. "Our child, whoever it will be, will always be safe and protected."

"I believe you, Tony", Mark said and leaned back in his chair. "I've read your files, and my guts tell me that you two are perfect parents for any of the children, and I always trust my guts.

Now, you're probably eager meet the children, so I'll just explain a few things before I take you to them. I'll let you interact with the children for a few hours and then we'll meet again to see if you've met someone you'd consider to adopt. Take your time. You can even spend the night here, if you want. One couple stayed here for an entire week before they connected with the boy that would be their son."

"Don't get me wrong", Gibbs said with a confused wrinkle on his brow, "but this isn't exactly how things are normally done when it comes to adoption. Is it?"

"No, Gibbs", Mark said and looked the old agent straight in the eyes. "It isn't. But it's how we do things here at Rainbow Orphanage, and we have discovered that it works pretty good. Do you want to meet the children now, or do you have any more questions?"

"We want to meet the kids", Tony said before Gibbs had a chance to open his mouth again.

"Good. Follow me, I'll take you to the park."

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Both Tony and Gibbs were grateful that Mark had offered to follow them out. The house with its many corridors and flights of stairs was like a maze. They would probably have managed to find their way out eventually, but with Mark's help they got out a lot faster.

"Alright, then", Mark said as soon as they stepped out of the big front doors. "This is where I'll leave you. Remember what I said, take your time before you decide which child you want. Try to spend as much as possible with the kids and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me or any of the care takers. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Mark", Gibbs said with a warm smile. "We will."

Mark returned the smile and then turned around and walked back into the house. Tony took a deep breath and leaned against the beautiful stone railing, looking out over the park and the many children. A broad smile suddenly appeared on his face when the final realization of it all caught up with him. This _was _really happening He was going to be a father.

"Are you ready?" Gibbs asked again softly and slipped his arms around Tony's waist from behind, letting the younger man lean against him as he gave him a light peck on the cheek.

"I am, Jet", Tony answered and looked into the blue eyes of the man he loved. "I truly am."

Gibbs kissed Tony again, on the lips this time, and then he leaned his chin on Tony's shoulder.

"Seeing someone you want to talk to yet?" he asked.

"No. I think this will be hard, Jet. There's so many of them."

"I know. But that only means that we will have a much bigger chance to find _our_ child. And I know that he or she is here somewhere."

"Is that gut feeling of yours telling you that?"

"What else? Come on. Let's go meet the kids."

Gibbs led the way down to the park and it didn't take more than a couple of minutes before he was participating in one of the children's activities, and that was building a tree house. Tony stood by another tree a few yards away, leaning against the trunk with his arms crossed over his chest and an affectionate smile playing on his lips, watching his lover showing a little boy how to use a hammer properly. Tony's smile grew bigger when he saw how utterly relaxed Gibbs was, as he talked and laughed with the children surrounding him, who was bombarding him with questions. For a moment, Tony thought about joining them, but decided against it. He was still a little uncomfortable around children and he didn't want to screw anything up the first thing he did. No, it was better to let Gibbs break the ice first. He could join them later. Besides, Mark had said that they had all the time they needed, so why rush into things?"

"Wanna give us a hand, Tony?"

Gibbs question brought Tony out of his thoughts. He returned the bright, loving smile Gibbs was giving him but shook his head.

"Nah, I think I'll just walk around for a while, check the place out", he said. "Besides, you know what happened the last time you trusted me with one of your tools. I'd probably wreck everything."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Don't stay away from me too long, alright?"

"What, you'd miss me, Jet?" Tony shot a teasing smile at the silver-haired man, who just smiled warmly in return.

"Always, Tone", he said. "Always."

Tony let out a short laugh and shook his head before looking at Gibbs again.

"See you later, Jet."

He turned around and walked slowly towards the gateway to the gardens. He walked around in there for over an hour, looking at the beautiful flower beds and the many statues of various animals. Some of them looked so real that he almost expected them to start moving when he passed them.

There were a lot of children in there too. Some helped the gardeners planting new flowers and little bushes, while others, mostly teenagers, just sat by one of the many ponds, talking, and yet others were running around, chasing each other or playing hide-and-seek. Tony regarded them all, wondering if one of them was the child that was meant to be his and Gibbs'. He tried to talk to a few, but most of them were to busy to pay him any attention, so he let them be.

After a while he stepped out of the gardens on the far end of the estate. Not far ahead he spotted a huge, lonely oak tree that seemed to guard the property since it was so big. He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that that tree was older than the house. It sure looked that way.

Tony walked over to the tree and sat down in a shallow hole between two roots and rested his back against the massive trunk. He closed his eyes and let the sun rays warm his face. He knew he really should go back to Gibbs, but he just wanted to sit there for a while and clear his head. He took some deep breaths and looked up at the bright blue sky, watching the small, fluffy clouds sail by. He smiled to himself when he remembered the many hours he had spent as a kid watching the clouds, trying to see the many creatures that seemed to be hiding up there. It was a long time ago and wondered if any of the kids here ever watched the clouds. They probably did. He would be surprised otherwise.

He was just about to get up and walk back to Gibbs when something hit him in the head. He looked up automatically and almost got an acorn in his eye. Tony got to his feet and peered through the branches as more acorns came falling down at him, and soon he spotted a little girl, lying flat on her stomach on a thick branch high up in the tree. She looked angry – no, not just angry, Tony thought when he saw the expression on her face. Hurt. And sad. She picked any acorn she could reach and fiercely flung them away, as if she by doing that got rid of some of her rage.

"Hey!" Tony called softly, making the girl flinch and look down on him in surprise. "You okay up there?"

The girl didn't answer, she just gave him a dark scowl and threw an acorn at him, hitting him square in the forehead. Tony chose to let it pass.

"Did something happen to you?" he tried again, hoping that the girl would talk to him this time.

"No!" she yelled back and threw another acorn at him, this time hitting him on the shoulder. "Go away!"

"I won't, kid. You can throw as many acorns at me as you want, I'm still staying."

"No, you're not! Leave me alone! I don't want to talk, don't you get that? You grown-ups always wants to make me talk. And don't call me 'kid'!"

"Sorry", Tony called calmingly. "Wanna give me your name, then?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Of course not. You're right. You should be careful around strangers."

"Are you deaf or something? Shut up and leave me alone!"

Tony was tempted to do just that, but in the same time he didn't want to let the girl win. Something was obviously bothering her and he was determined to find out what. He knew that sometimes it was easier to spill your guts to a complete stranger, so he was not going to give up that easily.

"Okay, girl, you asked for it", and with those words he started to climb the tree.

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

With some difficulty, mostly because the girl kept bombarding him with acorns, Tony managed to find a way up the tree to where the girl was. By the time he reached her he was really annoyed. He sat down on a thick branch beside her, grabbed her by the wrist and held on tight as she tried to get away.

"Hey! Knock it out!"

The girl froze at his stern voice and gave Tony a dark scowl before trying to snatch her arm away, but his grip was too strong.

"Let me go!" the girl screamed and tried to hit Tony with her other hand, but he just caught that too.

"Stop that! Do you wanna fall? Coz that's what gonna happen if you don't stop moving."

"Then let me go and get away from me. I don't want you up here! Leave me alone!"

"You've said that already. But I've got a news flash for you, little missy; I'm not going anywhere. Not until you've told me why you're up here."

"I told you, I don't want to talk!"

"Well, I don't believe you."

Tony could actually see the anger rise in the little girl's eyes, felt it roll off of her in waves. Whatever she had been holding back, she was letting it out now, and Tony knew instinctively that he should let her. He maybe didn't understand children, but he understood anger. He just hoped that she would calm down once she was done.

"Why can't you grown-ups understand what 'I don't want to talk' means?", she yelled at the top of her lungs. "You always think that you know better than me! Just because I'm a child does it mean that I'm stupid. You always think that children are stupid, that we can't make our own decisions. You never listen to us. You never listen to _me. _Maybe I want to be alone! Maybe I don't want to make friends! You never think of that! You always think that talking will solve every problem, even when I keep telling you that I don't want to. I don't work that way! You never get that! And you always seem to think that I have trust issues. Well, excuse me for not trusting people I don't know. Why should I? You... you..."

The girl seemed to run out of words and then big tears began to roll down her cheeks. Tony didn't even think when he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her over onto his lap. She struggled a little at first, but when she felt that she wasn't going to let go, she just gave in, buried her face against his chest and started to cry.

Tony did the only thing he could think of that moment and wrapped his arms protectively around the girl, just letting her cry. He felt her little body shake by each sob that forced its way out of her and how his shirt got wet by her tears. Softly he began to hum as he rocked the girl back and forth, soothingly caressing her soft hair. The melody was from a song his grandmother used to sing for him when he was a little boy. He didn't remember the words, but he would never forget the melody. He had always been calmed by it and hoped that the girl would be too.

After some time, Tony felt the girl relax a little and heard her crying subside. She took some deep breaths and lifted her head slightly so that she could dry her cheeks with the back of her hand before snuggling against him as close as she could get. Tony was a little surprised by this, but he felt that the girl needed it and therefor just hugged her close.

"Feeling better now, kid?" he mumbled in her ear.

The girl nodded and closed her eyes.

"What's your name?"

At first Tony thought that the girl wouldn't answer, but then he heard her mumble something he didn't catch, as her voice was muffled by his shirt.

"I'm afraid I didn't hear that", he said and the girl lifted her head and looked up at him.

"My name is Sarah", she said.

"Sarah." Tony smiled at her and carefully dried a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "My name is Tony."

"Hi."

"Hi. Look, I'm sorry for pushing you like that. You should know that I'm not very good with kids. If you really don't want to talk, you don't have to. I promise. I just have a question for you, though."

"What?"

"Is that the reason you're hiding up here? Because no one's listening to you or respects what you feel?"

Sarah looked gravely at him for a while before giving him a short nod.

"At least that one of the reasons", she added quietly.

"What's the other reasons?"

"The older kids are bullying me. They give me names and think that I'm weird."

"Have you told anyone?"

"No. And why should I? It wouldn't make any difference anyway. I would just get more lonely than I already am."

"So you prefer to be bullied than being completely alone?"

Sarah nodded again and Tony clenched his jaws in anger. Life wasn't meant to be that hard. Not for a child. But he knew it often was. He looked down at her again to say something encouraging, but closed his mouth when he saw the many scars on Sarah's arms and legs. Carefully he lifted her arm to take a better look. His brow wrinkled and he clenched his jaws harder. There was no way she could've got all those just by playing rough. She had been abused.

"Jesus Christ, Sarah", he said, his voice thick with sympathy. "What on earth has been done to you?"

Sarah immediately got angry again. She pushed herself away from Tony and he was shocked by the pain he could see in her eyes.

"I knew it!" she yelled. "You're just like everybody else."

"No, I'm not", Tony said and hugged her close to him again. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm so sorry. I promise you don't have to tell me. I promise. It's okay. Everything is alright. Just calm down."

Tony kept on murmuring soothing words into Sarah's ear and it didn't take long before she had relaxed again. Tony took a deep breath and let himself relax too. He just hoped that the perp that had hurt Sarah had been looked away for good. If not, he would hunt him down himself.

He looked down at Sarah and suddenly he felt a great jolt in his heart. He didn't know how he knew it, but somehow, deep inside him, he just _knew_ that Sarah was the one. She was meant to become his and Gibbs' daughter, and he knew that Gibbs would feel it too when he met her. There was no way Tony could let her go now. He was going to take her home, no matter what. He didn't care how many forms they had to fill or how many social workers they had to convince. Sarah _was _going to be theirs.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Are you feeling better now, kiddo?"

Sarah nodded against Tony's chest and sat up, drying her damp cheeks with her hands. She looked up at him and was met by his warm smile and kind eyes. She frowned. No-one had ever looked at her like that before, like they actually _meant_ it. Without thinking, Sarah flung her arms around Tony's neck and hugged him as hard as she could, buried her nose at his neck and breathed in his smell, forever etching it into her mind. She didn't want to forget him.

"Thank you, Tony", she mumbled.

"You're welcome, Sarah", Tony replied and hugged her back. "Are you ready to climb down now? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Sarah withdrew a little to look into Tony's eyes, not letting go of his neck. "Who?"

"My... um... boyfriend. But don't tell him I called him that. He hates it."

Sarah gave Tony a skeptic look. "You're gay?"

Tony blinked in surprise at the question, but then he laughed heartily and shook his head.

"No", he said. "No, I'm not gay. At least not according to me. You see, Jethro is the only man I've ever loved and ever will love. We are soul mates. Life partners. I love him more than I have loved any woman I've ever dated. When you truly love someone, it doesn't matter who they are, as long as you know that you'll spend the rest of your life with them."

Sarah chewed on her lower lip as she pondered what Tony just had said. She had been deprived of love her entire life and had just recently begun to understand what love _should _be about, but Tony's words were a little too much for her young mind to comprehend.

"I don't think I understand", she said and looked anxiously at the young man, but he just smiled and reassuringly caressed her cheek with a finger.

"You will understand", he said. "Some day. Come on. Let's go back."

Sarah nodded and crawled over to the branch she had been lying on. She waited until Tony had begun climbing down before start climbing herself. Almost down she felt Tony's strong hands grab her by the waist and lift her the last few feet to the ground. They walked side by side through the big park toward the house, both of them deep in their own thoughts. Sarah looked up at Tony once in a while and wondered how it would be to have him as a father, him and that Jethro he had been talking so fondly about. She had craved for a real family for months now, but none of those who had visited the orphanage since she had arrived there had been the least interested in her. She also knew that Tony probably wouldn't choose her, either. She didn't understand why he was so nice to her, and he was also the first who actually seemed to understand her. She had been surprised when he had let her rage instead of telling her to calm down and talk about how she felt, and that he had just held her when she cried. She wasn't used to that.

It was very seldom that Sarah cried. She had learned to control her tears, mostly because she would've got beaten, or worse, if she let her tears show, and that was so deep-seated in her that she didn't dare to cry even since she got to the orphanage. But her feelings had been building inside her for the last few days and when Tony made her snap, she hadn't been able to hold back the tears. She had just let herself go, for the first time in months. And despite the fact that he was a stranger, she had felt completely safe in his arms. Actually safe. As soon as his arms had been wrapped around her, she had just known that he wouldn't hurt her and that she could just let herself cry and get rid of the frustrations.

"Tony", Sarah asked then and looked up at the man by her side.

"Yeah?"

"How's Jethro like?"

"Well, he's very practical. And loyal. He takes care of all who are close to him. When we're at home, he's kinda laid-back, but at work he's focused and doesn't let anything get in his way to get the job done. He isn't much of a talker, but he's a good listener, and you can always go to him when you need to talk. I think that summons it all up pretty well."

"Do you think he'll like me?"

"I know he will, Sarah. Trust me."

It didn't take long before they were back by the house. Sarah frowned when she saw that a group of children were building a tree house and felt a pang of jealousy. She had never built a tree house before, but she knew better than to try and join in. The others would just start to call her names and stuff when she did, and she was getting sick of it.

Suddenly a silver-haired man Sarah had never seen before jumped down from the merely started tree house and came walking towards them. By Tony's warm grin she could tell that the other man probably was Jethro. She regarded him curiously and felt instinctively that he could be trusted too. It was something with his eyes. They were kind eyes, just like Tony's, and when he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back.

She watched the two men walk a few feet a way from her and heard Tony whisper something with an eager voice. Jethro was listening intently to him the entire time and then his eyes turned to Sarah, giving her a thoughtful look.

"Are you sure, Tone?" he asked, his eyes not leaving Sarah for a second.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Jet", Tony replied calmly. "I haven't been so sure of anything in my entire life."

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Their daughter? Could that really be her? Gibbs looked back up at Tony and saw the determination in the younger man's eyes. At least _he _was sure about it. He could also see a fire in Tony's eyes he only had seen a few times before. Tony had bonded with the girl, and that itself was an amazing thing. Truth be told, Gibbs hadn't expected that to happen today at all.

"Are you Jethro?"

Gibbs snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the girl, who was now looking curiously up at him, her head slightly tilted to one side.

"Yeah", Gibbs said and crouched down so that they were in the same level. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah."

"Sarah. It's a pretty name. How old are you?"

"Five."

"Five?" Tony exclaimed and stared at the girl in shock. "You're only five?"

"You've got any problems with that, Tony?" Gibbs asked and looked up at his lover, an eyebrow raised in question and a teasing smile playing on his lips.

"No", Tony said with a frown. "It's just that she sounds older than five. I thought that she would be at least seven."

Gibbs looked back at the girl and let his eyes sweep over her from head to toe. Even if she sounded older than five, like Tony thought, she certainly didn't look that way. Not at a closer look, anyway. She was small and scrawny, and her long, brown hair, almost the same color as Tony's, was tousled and there was small twigs and leaves stuck in it. She was a bit dirty, but Gibbs would've been surprised if she had been absolutely clean. Children seemed to attract dirt the same way magnets attracted iron, and in his opinion, that was how it should be.

One thing that puzzled him though, was Sarah's eyes. There was a look deep in the sapphire blue depths that made his gut squirm. It was a look of deep pain, betrayal and deprivation mixed with a longing so strong that it seemed to radiate from the girl in waves. She was begging for someone to love and protect her. He wondered what caused that look when he saw the scars on Sarah's arms and legs. Gibbs clenched his jaws in anger, but forced himself to soften his features again when he saw the frightened look that had appeared on the girl's face.

"Who gave you these, Sarah?" he asked and carefully ran a finger over the scars.

"It's none of your business", Sarah snapped then and pulled away from his touch, glaring at him. The look she gave him was hard as steel and he could almost hear the walls slam up around her. He looked up at Tony, who gravely shook his head and then crouched down beside the girl. He put his arms around her and mumbled something in her ear. Gibbs watched silently and noticed how at ease the man and the girl seemed to be around each other. A small smile began to play on the older man's lips when he saw a vision of the three of them at home, as a family. Tony was right. She was theirs.

"Sarah? Good Lord, where have you been?"

Gibbs stood up and turned around just in time to see a plump, middle-aged woman walking towards them and straight over to the little girl, picking her up in her arms.

"I've been so worried", the woman continued, not heeding any of the men. "Where were you? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I was hiding, okay?" Sarah said. "I wanted to be alone for a while."

"Why do you always want to be alone? You won't make any friends of you don't try harder."

"Maybe I don't want to make friends! You never think about that!"

"Sarah, stop it! We've had that conversation before."

"Why don't you let Sarah make her own decisions whether she wants to make friends or not", Tony said then. "Maybe she's not ready yet."

The woman stared at Tony like she hadn't noticed that he was there until then.

"I'm sorry", she said. "And you are...?"

"I'm Anthony DiNozzo, and this is my partner, Jethro Gibbs. I was..."

"Ah, yes", the woman interrupted coolly. "The gay couple. Let me ask you something, Mr. DiNozzo. Do you have any experience with children?"

"Not really", Tony said with a shrug. "But Jeth..."

"Then I don't think you're capable of knowing what Sarah is or is not ready for. Now if you excuse me, I need to give Sarah a bath."

Without another word, the woman turned her back at Tony and Gibbs and walked back to the house. Sarah glanced back at them over the woman's shoulder and rolled her eyes before waving good bye.

"You think they all are like that?" Tony asked Gibbs as they watched the woman disappear into the house with the girl.

"No. But she was probably under a lot of stress."

"Yeah, that and the fact that she didn't like us." Tony sighed heavily and looked gravely up at Gibbs. "I really want to help her, Jet. She deserves to have a loving family."

"I know, Tony. Me too. Lucky for her that we can provide just that, then."

"Jet..."

Gibbs smiled broadly at his young lover and ruffled his hair softly.

"I saw you how you interacted with Sarah. She's already found her way into your heart. Am I wrong?"

"No, you're right. God, I never expected this to happen. One look into her eyes was all that it took, Jet. I've never seen eyes like that. She wants to be loved so badly that I just wanted to take her home with us immediately. Did you see her scars? I'm amazed that she isn't more traumatized than she is. Just imagine how it would be like if the people who're supposed to love and protect you harmed you instead."

"I know, Tony. But she's safe now. And soon she'll be home with us. Come on. Let's go find Mark. I want to get this whole thing started ASAP."

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Gibbs and Tony walked up to the house and after several wrong turns and dead ends, they managed to find Mark Hansen's office. The door was open and they saw the social worker sitting behind his desk, talking to someone over the phone. Mark beckoned the two agents to come in as he finished the call and then he looked up at them with a smile.

"Gibbs and Tony", he said as the two sat down in front of him. "I was just about to go and find you. Have you met any children you'd consider to adopt, yet?"

"Better up, Mark", Gibbs said. "We've already found the one we want."

"You have?" Mark stared at the two men in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure", Tony said and looked Mark straight in the eyes. "We've found our daughter."

"Well, I must say, I don't think anyone has connected to a child this fast before. At least not what I can remember. Who is it that you want to adopt?"

"Her name is Sarah", Tony continued. "She is five years old, she's got long brown hair, dark blue eyes and she's also got scars on her arms and legs."

Mark wrinkled his brow in thought and turned to his computer. After a couple of minutes, he turned the screen around so that the two men could see the picture of a girl he had brought up.

"Is this her?" he asked, and both Gibbs and Tony gave a affirmative nod, both recognizing Sarah immediately.

"Okay, let's see..." Mark turned the screen back around and read silently for a while. Gibbs felt his guts twist ominously when Mark suddenly got a troubled look on his face.

"I'm afraid that there's a problem here", he said. "Sarah hasn't been put up for adoption yet."

"What?" Tony exclaimed and frowned at Mark. "You gotta be kidding!"

"You said that she hasn't been put adoption _yet_?" he asked and got a affirmative nod in reply. "So we will be able do adopt her eventually?"

"Yes, but I don't know how long it might take. You see, Sarah hasn't been here for so long and she's recovering from a horrible past, a past that probably will give her nightmares for years to come."

"The past that earned her those scars?"

"Exactly. And she won't be put up for adoption until she has recovered some more from that past."

"And there's no way you can speed things up?"

Mark took a deep breath and looked thoughtfully on the two men in front of him. He could see the stone cold resolution shining from the younger man's eyes and realized that he already saw the girl as his daughter. The older man didn't show any emotions at all, but that probably only meant that he was better at keeping them at bay.

"Do you really want this girl?" he asked them then, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes", Tony said determinedly, followed by a short not from Gibbs. "If we could, we would take her home with us today. When I met Sarah I just knew that she belongs to me and Jethro. I felt it in my heart. She may not be ours by blood but she is already as dear to me as if I had fathered her, and that's huge for me, especially when I only met her for such a short amount of time. I've never been good with kids, I've never known how to behave around them, but with Sarah it's been so easy. So please, if there's anything you can do to put her up for adoption sooner, please do it."

Mark sighed again and looked at the picture of Sarah. The very thought of what she had been put through always made him clench his jaws in anger. She deserved to come to a good family, and if his gut feeling was anything to go by, he knew that these two men would be the exact parents that the girl needed.

"I'll see what I can do", he said "I'll talk to the board tomorrow. Even though we'd like Sarah to come to better terms with her past, I know that it'd be better for her to come to a family as soon as possible. You two can probably give her the security she needs to recover fully."

The look of relief on the two men's faces was so striking that it made Mark smile.

"Thank you, Mark", Gibbs said. "Now, is there anything more you can tell us about Sarah? Anything you think we'd need to know?"

"Well", Mark said and turned back to the screen. "Her full name is Sarah Verity O'Hara. She's been here at the orphanage for about six months now. The scars you saw come from years of severe abuse, and as I said, they will most probably give her nightmares for years to come."

"If she'll ever get rid of them at all", Gibbs mumbled with steel in his voice. "Who did it to her?"

"Her parents. Both of them. Both of them seemed to try to find any excuse to punish her, and they always punished her severely. They burned her with cigarettes, beat her, locked her up with no food for long times... and that's just some of the things they put her through."

"I don't get it", Tony cut off then. "If she has been so severely abused as you claim she has been, how come that she isn't more affected by it? When I spoke to her, she seemed to be kinda, you know, normal. A little wary and aggressive maybe, but I thought that was because she thinks that everyone is pushing her and tries to make her open up, and that she thought I'd do the same."

"Actually, I don't know", Mark said sadly. "My guess is it's her way to cope. We're letting her see a psychologist who works with us, but he hasn't got her to open up yet. Actually she refuses to talk to anyone about it. "

"Well, maybe she just isn't ready yet. I wouldn't like to be forced into talking about my past, either, especially not with a past like hers."

"That may be so, Tony, but we're only trying to help her."

Tony opened his mouth to say something more, but closed it again when he felt Gibbs' hand on his arm. Tony look up just as Gibbs shook his head warningly and forced himself to relax. He calmed himself with the thought that Sarah wouldn't be staying at the orphanage much longer and looked back at Mark.

"How did she get out of there?" he asked. "Why is she here? Are her parents still alive?"

"No, her parents are dead", Mark replied. "They died in a car crash, and she has no other relatives. Sarah was put in a foster home at first, but she didn't stop fighting with the other children and her foster parents felt that they couldn't give her what they needed, and since no one else wanted her, she was brought here. Everything else you need to know about Sarah is in her file. I'll give you a copy of it so you can take it home and read it, and I want you both to read it carefully. It would be best for both Sarah and you if you know her background story before you take her home."

"We understand", Gibbs said. "But have you any idea of when that will be?"

"Normally it takes about a month. We like to give the child and its future parents a chance to get to know each other a little better before the child gets to move in with them. But now I'm not so sure. It all depends on what the board says.

Now if you excuse me, I'll go and get you Sarah's file."

Mark left the office but came back just a short moment later, holding a thick file in his hand. He gave the file to Gibbs, who eyed it through swiftly one time before tucking it under his arm, then he and Tony stood up to leave.

"I'll give you a call as soon as I know something more about what the board decides to to with Sarah", he said and shook hands with the two men again. "Take care."

"You too, Mark", Gibbs said and smiled at the other man. "Thank you."

They left the office and managed to find their way down to the main entrance. They waved goodbye to the children that watched them go to the car, and then they got inside and drove away from the orphanage. Tony sighed heavily and rubbed his brow. He had never thought that this day would be so exhausting. He wasn't tired physically as much as mentally. Everything had happened so fast the last couple of hours. Almost too fast.

"Are you okay, Tony?" Gibbs asked and put a hand on Tony's knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm fine", Tony said and ran a hand through his hair with a low grunt. "I'm just tired, is all." Then a small smile appeared on the corner of Tony's mouth. "What do you think the others will say?" he asked.

"About us becoming parents? I don't know. I think Abby will be thrilled, though."

"Yeah, me too. And probably Ducky aswell. I think he will be a great grandfather."

"I don't think we should tell them just yet, though. Not until we know for certain what the board has to say. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah. But I think Abby will know that something is up though."

Gibbs gave out a short laugh. "That wouldn't surprise me at all."

Then Tony gave Gibbs a grave look. "Do you think she'll want us, Jet?" he asked. "What will we do if she doesn't like it with us."

"Do you mean Sarah? I seriously don't know, but if it turns out like that, we'll deal with it them. There's no need to worry about it now."

"I guess you're right. I just want this all to be over. I hate waiting."

"Me too. But there's not much we can do about it."

"I guess not, but I still don't like it."

They drove in silence the rest of the way, both of them deep in their own thoughts. They were both a bit overwhelmed by the events of the day and both needed to let it sink in properly. When they finally got home it was already dark and both were too tired to do much else except grab something to eat, shower and go to bed. Tony found himself being wrapped up in Gibbs' strong arms and relaxed into the embrace, resting his head against his lover's chest and listened to his slow, steady heart beat, tapping in time with the beat on Gibbs' stomach. Gibbs pulled his fingers through Tony's hair and planted a kiss on the top of his head before he sought out Tony's mouth. He started to let his hands wander over Tony's body but stopped when Tony broke the kiss and looked up to meet his eyes.

"Not tonight, Jet", he said. "Please?"

"Is something wrong?" Gibbs asked and gave Tony a worried look. Tony never used to turn him down.

"No, nothing is wrong. I just... I just want you to hold me tonight."

"Okay. Come here."

Gibbs wrapped his arms again around Tony's body and the younger man let his head flop back down onto his chest. Tony snuggled closer and closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of coffee and sawdust, letting them soothe his worries and fears.

"I love you, Jet", he mumbled right before he fell asleep and smiled when he felt his lover's embrace tighten.

"I love you too, Tony", Gibbs mumbled and held the younger man as close as he could. "I love you too."

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

When Tony woke up the next morning he found himself alone. It wasn't unusual, Gibbs often got up earlier than him, but what wasn't usual though was that he couldn't smell any coffee. Tony frowned and got out of bed. Gibbs always put on the percolator the first thing in the morning, so why hadn't he done that today.

Tony took a quick shower before putting on some clothes and heading down stairs. He found Gibbs sitting by the kitchen table, reading through Sarah's file. Tony had been around Gibbs so much that he could immediately tell that his lover hadn't had any coffee yet, so before doing anything else, he walked over to the counter and put some on, then he went to the table and sat down beside Gibbs.

"She's been through so much, Tony", Gibbs said without looking up. "Too much for a child of her age."

"I know", Tony replied. "But she got out of there, and that's all that counts. How long have you been up, Jet?"

"A couple of hours. Couldn't sleep."

"You had to know." It was more of a statement than a question and Gibbs nodded affirmatively. Tony picked up a photo of Sarah and looked at it for a long time. It looked like it was taken just shortly after she had been brought to the orphanage. She was thinner than she was now and it looked like she had thrown up thick walls around herself, giving the photographer a wary look.

"What did they do to her, Jet?" he asked softly.

"A lot of things. I think Mark summoned it up pretty well, even though he left out some parts. Her father even used to burn her with a match or a lighter."

"Why use a cigarette when you can use fire directly, huh?" Tony said dryly and clenched his jaws.

"It also says here that they probably used mental abuse more than physical. Most of the injuries she had when she was found were at least a week old."

"But who brought her out of there? And when did her parents die."

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. O'Hara had gone for a short trip somewhere, no one knows for sure but the police guess that they wanted to get away for a little while."

"And it was on that trip they had the car accident?"

"Exactly. They had locked Sarah inside her room until they came back and told a curious neighbor that she was staying with a relative. Two days later, Sarah had started to throw things around and made a lot of noise, enough to disturb the neighbors who thought it was a burglar and called the police."

Tony took the file from Gibbs and read it through himself. When he was done his jaws were tightly clenched and his eyes were hard as steel, his hands trembling with rage.

"I know, Tony", Gibbs said before the younger man had a chance to say anything and took the file from him. "But she's okay now. No one will ever hurt her again, and soon we'll have her here, where she'll be really safe and loved."

"Yeah, but who knows how long that will take? I hate bureaucrats."

"Tell me someone who doesn't."

Gibbs stood up from the table and put the folder away before starting to prepare breakfast for them. In an attempt to clear the heads of their girl's horrible past, they started to discuss the re-making of the guest room to a bedroom more suitable for a child, and made a list of things they would have to buy, and another list of furniture Gibbs would make himself, such as a book case, a chest of drawers and some shelves. They thought it was best to start right away, so that the room would be completely finished by the time Sarah could come home. Both knew though that it was possible that she wouldn't be allowed to come home with them, but none of them wanted to think about it and forced those thoughts away. They weren't helping anyway.

Since Tony was completely new to the idea of being a parent, he let Gibbs take most of the lead and was content with just listening and learning. Soon he understood that Gibbs really had missed being a father, and he often saw a flash of pain and yearning in the older man's ice-blue eyes. He knew then that Gibbs thought of his daughter, Kelly, and made sure that his lover knew that he was there for him, and always would be.

XxX

After a lot of though, Gibbs decided to go up to the attic and dig out some of Kelly's old things. He knew that his first daughter wouldn't mind that her things came of use again, and he was even positive that she would be happy if Sarah had her toys to play with. He brought Tony up to the attic and with some hesitance, he dug out some boxes that held Kelly's old toys. He opened one of the boxes slowly and looked down on the things it contained, things he had not wanted to look at since the day he had packed them down so many years ago. Memories flashed before his eyes as he picked up a stuffed animal and a shivering breath managed to escape his clenched jaws. Then he suddenly felt Tony's hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet the younger man's eyes, which were filled with deepest concern.

"I'm okay, Tony", he said huskily and forced himself to smile, but he could see that Tony didn't believe him.

"No, you're not", he said softly. "I can see it in your eyes."

Gibbs looked gravely at his lover for a moment and then he turned back to the toy in his hands.

"I miss them so much", he mumbled and the next moment he found himself wrapped in Tony's strong, warm arms.

"I know, Jet", he whispered. "I know. You don't have to do this."

"I know. But I want to. I have a feeling that this is what Kelly would have wanted as well."

Tony pressed his lips to the silver-haired man's temple and then they set to the task to look through the toys. When they were finished, they had settled on some old stuffed animals that weren't too worn out and some games and jigsaw puzzles. Gibbs also found some of Kelly's old books and decided that he would bring them down too. He remembered how he used to read to his daughter at bedtime and looked forward to be able to do it again.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Monday came, and Gibbs and Tony went back to the office. Gibbs went directly to MTAC for a meeting so Tony continued to the squad room alone. When he got there he saw that Tim and Ziva were already there. Ziva was standing behind Tim, leaning over his shoulder as they laughed and talked about something on the probie's computer screen. None of them noticed Tony approached which brought a smug smile to Tony's face. Usually it was really hard to approach Ziva without her noticing, but this time she seemed to be too occupied, and Tim was never very aware of his surroundings while focusing on computers anyway.

"What have you got there, Probie?" Tony asked as he dumped his thing at his desk.

"Nothing", Tim swiftly replied, which got him a suspicious look from Tony.

"That sounded to be a little too funny to be nothing", Tony replied.

"I don't think you would understand it anyway, Tony", Ziva said and straightened her back, giving Tony a teasing smile.

"We'll see about that. Show me."

He walked over to stand beside Tim, but when he looked at the screen all he saw was a site filled with some kind of gibberish he didn't understand.

"What's so funny about that?" he asked and glared at Tim and Ziva.

"I told you you wouldn't understand", Ziva said as she want passed Tony to her desk. Tony turned his glare at Tim, who just smiled and nodded.

"She did, Tony", he said.

"Aren't you gonna explain it?" Tony asked.

"Nope. Don't have time for it, anyway. Time to get to work."

Tony gave Tim one last glare before he returned to his own desk. He had a feeling that it was something fishy going on, but decided to drop it and started on his pile of paperwork. It had grown almost painfully big over the last few days so it was about time he finished some of it.

Gibbs came back after about and hour and a half and announced that they had a new case. It turned out to be a hard one, involving the body of a young boy, and it gave them some very long and stressful days. Gibbs drove them hard until they solved it and could take the perpetrator into custody, and by that time they were all tired, both physically and emotionally. When Tony and Gibbs came home that day, Gibbs went straight down to the basement and Tony had a feeling that his lover wanted to be left alone for a while, needed a time to clear his head.

Tony put on one of his old, classic movies and flopped down on the couch to watch. He desperately wanted to drown the memories of the case in alcohol but knew it would be a really bad idea. They still needed to get back to work tomorrow so giving himself the mother of all hangovers wouldn't be very bright.

Tony waited until after the end credits before he turned off the movie and warily went down to the basement. He saw Gibbs sitting by the work bench, a cup of bourbon beside him. Tony walked slowly over to him and saw that he was working on a small, wooden box. Tony leaned against the work bench beside his lover and watched in silence until Gibbs put down his tools and looked at him.

"Hansen called just now", he said gravely.

Tony felt his heart starting to race. "And?"

"They will let us adopt her."

Tony felt it like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders and a bright smile split his face in two. She would really be theirs? Then he noticed the still serious look on Gibbs face and immediately got worried.

"Isn't that a good thing?" he asked.

"It is, Tony", Gibbs replied and gave him a reassuring smile. "It is a very good thing."

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing. I promise. Everything is fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I know, but I am. Really. Let's go to bed."

Tony wasn't fully convinced but figured that the stress from the case and the revelation that they would adopt Sarah maybe had got a little too much for the older man. He pulled Gibbs in for a tight hug and just held him like that for a long moment. After a while he felt his lover relax against him and slowly let him go before giving him a soft kiss.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah", Gibbs said and smiled again. "Come on."

**XxX**

"Are we going to tell the others now?" Tony asked later when they lay together in the dark, the older man's head resting on the younger one's chest, right over his heart.

"Yeah. I think they'd like to know now, before we take her home."

"Did Hansen say when we can do that?"

"In a month or two. They want to be sure that we'll get along before we take her home, so they want us to come and visit her as soon as we can. They won't tell her anything before we do."

"OK. God, I just want this to be over."

"Me too."

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The coming Friday was made into a team night out and Tony and Gibbs insisted that they all would be there, even if it was just for a little while. They chose a bar not far from the Navy Yard and managed to get a booth at the back so that they would have at least a little privacy. Tony and Tim went to get them drinks and when they got back they chatted lightly for a while before Ducky cleared his throat and turned to Gibbs.

"So, Jethro. Are you going to tell us why you and Anthony wanted us all here tonight?"

"I knew it!" Abby exclaimed. "I had a feeling that it was something hinky goin on! So what are you gonna tell us? Let me guess, you're getting married? No, you've already done that. Well, not getting married maybe but you still exchanged your vows and rings, so that should count as getting married. Are you gonna do it again? No, this must be something bigger than that. Oh! You are going to get-"

"Abby!" Tony cut her off and gave her a pleading look.

"Sorry", Abby said. "I'm just so excited. This is big, right? It has to be big. You wouldn't have insisted on us being here if it wasn't big."

"Abby", Tim said and took her hand in his to get her attention. "Can you just let them tell us?"

"Oh. Right."

Tony and Gibbs exchanged and swift look and then they turned back to the others, making themselves ready to drop the bomb.

"Guys, you know we see you as a family, right?" Tony said and gave them all a warm smile.

"Of course", Abby said and beamed. "You told us that at the ceremony."

"Yes, and I also hope that you know that we feel like we can trust you with anything."

"Certainly, my dear boy", Ducky said. "But what is this all about?"

"Well, we should probably have told you this earlier, but better late than never right? Jet and I are going to adopt."

A stunned silence followed Tony's announcement, all the others just staring at the couple. Suddenly Abby gave out a loud squeal and threw herself around Gibbs neck, giving him one of her bone crushing hugs before doing the same with Tony as the others congratulated them cheerfully.

"I can't believe it!" Abby shrieked. "That's so fantastic! I'm really happy for you guys!"

"I have to say that it wasn't quite what I had expected, Jethro", Ducky said and smiled at his old friend. "For how long have you been planning for this?"

"About a year", Gibbs replied. "We didn't want to tell you before we knew that it was really going to happen."

"Have you met your child yet?" Ziva asked.

"We have", Tony said. "We're going to have a daughter. Her name is Sarah and she is five years old. She's had a bit of a rough past, but we're positive that we can give all the love and security that she needs."

"What do you mean, Tony?" Tim asked.

Tony looked at Gibbs who nodded, and then Tony told them all about Sarah without getting into any details. Abby clenched her fists in anger and both she as Ziva looked like they wanted to kill something – or _someone._ Tim's and Palmer's eyes were hard as steel, and only Ducky seemed somewhat calm, even though a glint of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

"Well, I'm sure that you two will be perfect for the girl", he said when Tony had finished talking. "And we will help you out whenever you need us."

"You can count on us", Abby said. "We will be the best family Sarah's ever had."

"Thanks, Abs", Gibbs said and smiled.

"So when are you taking her home?" Tim asked.

"In a month or two", Tony replied. "Maybe sooner, maybe later. We're going to visit her soon again so that we can get to know her better, and her us, and also tell her what's happening."

Ziva gave them a surprised look. "She doesn't know?"

"No, not yet. And the orphanage wants us to tell her ourselves. So what do you say, guys. Are you willing to be her aunts and uncles?"

"Of course, Anthony", Ducky said. "We'd love to. Sarah will never be alone again."

They stayed in the bar for a while longer and then Ducky felt that it was time for him to go home to his mother. They all broke up after that and headed on their different ways.

"How do you think she'll take it?" Tony asked during his and Gibbs' drive home. "When we tell Sarah, I mean.

"I don't know, Tony", Gibbs said after a moment of silence. "And we won't know for sure until we do, so stop worry about it."

"I can't help it, Jet. I guess I'm a little nervous, is all."

"Me too, Tony. Me too."

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Tony tried to stifle a big yawn and slumped down in the car seat. Gibbs had forced him out of before dawn so that they could be at the orphanage early and he still wasn't fully awake yet. He yawned again and tried to keep his heavy eyelids open, but felt soon that it was useless and closed his eyes.

"Did we have to get up this early?" he asked.

"Yeah. I don't want us to be home as late as the last time."

"We could just have slept in tomorrow, you know."

"Abby will be over tomorrow, remember? Said she'd come early."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that."

"Go figure.."

Gibbs glanced at the younger man and smiled when he saw that Tony was about to fall asleep again and carefully touched his hand.

"You tired, Tone?"

"Mhm..."

"You should have gone to bed earlier, then."

"Not my choice."

Gibbs smile got wider when he thought about the implication of those words.

"Maybe not", he said. "If you want to get some sleep you can. I'll wake you when we get near, okay?"

"Mm..."

Tony shifted a little in his seat until he found a more comfortable position and was sound asleep within seconds. Gibbs gave his hand a light caress and then focused on the road again as he listened to his lover's deep, calm breaths, letting his thoughts drift as he watched the sun rise higher and higher in the sky.

Tony woke up by himself about an hour later and sat up with a satisfied groan. The nap had been exactly what he'd needed. He yawned again and looked out the window, just to discover that the car wasn't moving. It was parked outside a gas station and he also noticed that Gibbs wasn't there. Tony shrugged and stepped out of the car, taking the opportunity to stretch his somewhat stiff limbs before Gibbs came back. It didn't take long before Gibbs came out from the gas station, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the younger man leaning against the car but then he returned the smile Tony fired at him.

"I thought you'd sleep the entire trip?" he said and handled the water bottle to Tony.

"Apparently not." Tony took a swig of the water and then nodded to the paper cup. "Is that coffee or tar?"

"Tar", Gibbs replied with a shrug.

"So why did you buy it?"

"Needed the caffeine."

Gibbs finished the coffee and threw away the cup before beckoning to Tony to get back into the car.

"How far is it to the orphanage from here?" Tony asked as Gibbs started the engine and drove off.

"Fifty miles, maybe. Give or take."

"Do you think she'll be happy to see us?"

"Don't know, Tony. I guess we'll find out when we get there."

XxX

Sarah pulled her knees up to her chest and put her arms around her legs as she stared bluntly at the middle-aged man sitting opposite of her. Dr. Herman, the orphanage psychologist, was looking patiently at her, waiting for her to start talking. They had been sitting here for almost an hour now and Sarah had still not said a single word. She pressed her lips together and looked away, waiting for Dr. Herman to say that she was free to go. He always did eventually. He couldn't hold her in his office forever and she knew it. She just had to wait and be quiet.

After another fifteen minutes or so, the doctor sighed heavily and put his notepad away, causing Sarah to look up and meet the grave look he gave her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Sarah", he said. "Why won't you let me help you?"

The only answer he got was another blunt look.

"Please, Sarah. Tell me why you don't want to talk to me."

"Because I don't want to, okay?" the girl yelled, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"I don't believe you", Dr. Herman said and leaned forward in his chair. "I also believe that it's not good for you to keep everything inside. You can trust me, Sarah."

"I don't care. If I don't want to talk you can't make me."

"You are right. I can't. But I still think that..."

"I don't care what you think! I have told you that I don't want to talk, so why do you make me come back all the time?"

Before the psychologist had a chance to answer, Sarah had got out of the chair and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She ran through the house, dodging everyone she met and ignoring those who shouted after her to slow down. She didn't stop until she was out in the park by one of her favorite hide outs, a hole in one of the thick walls surrounding the gardens. She crawled inside and hugged her legs to her chest, panting heavily from the run. She felt tears burning behind her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She clenched her eyes shut and pushed away all the memories of her past that were about to well up and consume her. She didn't want to remember. She just wanted to forget.

Sarah didn't know for how long she had sat there when she heard the crunching sound of slow footsteps. They stopped right outside the hole, partly blocking the light that shone in. Whoever it was out there sat down on the ground with a deep sigh, leaning his back against the wall without saying a word for a long time. Sarah crawled further into the hole, hoping that the guy outside didn't know that she was there, but she had no such luck.

"Care to come out, lass?"

Sarah immediately recognized the gardener's calm, friendly voice and felt herself relax a little, knowing that she was perfectly safe around Archie. He was one of the few who had managed to earn her trust and he was also the only one who took her seriously and never tried to push her into talking. He had gradually become her friend over the past few weeks and mostly she enjoyed his company, but right now she just wanted to be alone.

"Go away, Archie", she said and crawled even further into her hole.

"You know I won't do that, lass", Archie replied. "I will stay right here as long as you need me."

"I don't need you, so go!"

"Oh, yes, you do. I don't care what you say, lass, but you do need someone with you right now. I can feel it. You can maybe lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me."

Sarah opened her mouth to object, but closed it again with a sigh. It was useless to argue with Archie once he had made up his mind about something.

She crawled out slowly and stood up in front of the old gardener, silently looking him straight into his only eye. The other eye was covered with an eye patch, and that together with his scarred face and shaved head, now covered with a handkerchief to protect it from the sun, made the gardener look somewhat like a pirate. Sarah had been a little scared of Archie at first, but had soon discovered that he wasn't at all as scary as he looked, and because of him she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Archie gave her a lopsided smile and and lightly tapped the girl's chin, making her smile back.

"Wanna help me with the weeds, lass?"

Sarah nodded and Archie got up from the ground with a low grunt. Together they walked back to the house where Archie had left all his tools by the flowerbeds surrounding it. Archie showed the girl which plants to pull up and soon she was lost in her task. Archie watched her for a while before starting to trim the bushes. He hoped for her sake that she would come to a family, to someone who would let her heal in her own pace. He hoped it would happen soon.

Archie snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of an approaching car reached his ears. He stretched his back and turned around to see who it was. He didn't recognize the car and he hoped that this day meant that another of the children would get a new home. Sarah had also stopped working and walked over to stand next to the gardener. Archie put a hand on her shoulder and smiled dryly when the car came to a stop at the small parking lot.

"Seems like we have visitors today, lass", he mumbled, but Sarah didn't answer him. Her eyes were glued on the two men who just stepped out of the car, especially the one who walked around it from the passenger side. She recognized him. She recognized them both. Her heart took a leap of hope in her chest and she stared at them in disbelief, not knowing what to think.

"For Heaven's sake, lass", Archie said then. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Do you know who those two are?"

Sarah just nodded in response.

"Then who are they?"

"Tony. And Jethro."

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry about the huge delay. I had a major case of writers block plus that r/l came in the way a lot.  
**

**I've done some major editing to the previous chapters of this story. Some chapters have just been edited for grammar and typos, others have been re-written completely. Personally I like the new version better.**

**Here's finally chapter 13. I hope you like. Happy Holidays!**

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**Chapter 13**

Archie raised his eyebrows and looked over at the two men again, who had just closed the car doors and walked towards the house.

"Those the ones who came and talked to you, lass?" he asked and got an affirmative nod from the girl.

"Yeah", she said quietly and watched Tony and Gibbs walk up the stairs to the main entrance. For a moment it looked like Tony turned his head and looked at her, slowing his steps as he did so, but then he hurried to catch up with Gibbs.

Archie noticed the anxious look on the young face and crouched down so that he was level with her.

"A dollar for your thoughts, lass", he said somberly, using the word 'dollar' since Sarah had told him that her thoughts were worth a lot more than a penny.

"Tony looked at me", Sarah replied and furrowed her brow. "I don't think he recognized me."

"Or maybe he thought me recognized you but wasn't sure it really was you. Don't jump to conclusions, lass!"

"But..."

"No buts. Now you push those thoughts away and wait with me until we know why they're here. Those weeds are not going to come out on their own."

Archie always took a risk when he told Sarah to do something. The girl was headstrong and didn't like to do what she was told all the times, but he was relieved to see that this time she went back to pulling up weeds. He was positive that it would take most of her mind off her worries and besides, he had a feeling that he should keep her close.

**XxX**

"I think I just saw Sarah, Jet", Tony said eagerly as he caught up with his lover, who stopped and turned around to look at him

"You sure, Tony?" Gibbs asked and got a shrug from the younger man.

"Pretty sure. Looked a lot like her, but I didn't see her very well, so it might have been another girl."

"But you don't think so." It was more a statement than a question.

"No, I don't, Jet", Tony agreed with a smile. "I really think it was Sarah."

"Then let's hurry up and find one of the care-givers so that we can let them know we're here."

They didn't have to look for look, because in that moment the doors opened and the same care-giver they had met the first time they were there came out. She froze with a look of surprise on her face, but then she smiled brightly at them when she finally recognized them.

"Mr. Gibbs and DiNozzo!" she said and beamed. "Hi, welcome back! Are you eager to see Sarah again? Mark have told us that you want to adopt her."

"We are, miss Thatcher", Gibbs said and smiled back at the woman. "

"I was just on my way to find her for you. She's hiding somewhere in the park again and I'm getting a little worried about her. She's been gone for over an hour now. You can come along if you want to."

"I actually think I saw her just now", Tony piped up. "Over by the corner of the house. She was with an old man."

"An old man? Oh, that must be Archie. He's our gardener. Most children keep away from him since can be a little intimidating sometimes, but Sarah likes him for some reason. I think he's the first friend she's managed to make since she got here. If you follow me I'll take you to her."

Rose led the way down the stairs and over to the girl and the gardener. Archie didn't give a sign that he noticed them coming, but Sarah stopped with what she was doing and looked nervously at them and even moved a little closer to the gardener. The wary look in her eyes almost broke Tony's heart but he was determined not to let it show and smiled warmly at her instead.

"Sarah, Mr. Gibbs and DiNozzo are here to see you again", Rose said as they came up to her. "Do you remember them?"

"Yeah", Sarah said quietly with a swift nod but the wary look in her eyes didn't disappear, and now it was also mixed with disbelief.

"I told you not to jump to conclusions, lass", Archie remarked, still without looking up. "Now you go with them and find out why they're here. If you excuse me, I have some work that needs to be done elsewhere."

Without another word, Archie gathered up all his tools and walked away, leaving Sarah alone with Rose and the two special agents. The girl watched him leave and then she turned back to Tony and Gibbs with a look in her eyes that told them that she would be ready to fight if she had to.

"Hi, Sarah", Gibbs said and crouched down in front of her. "It's good to see you again."

"I'll leave you three alone", Rose said then. "I'll be right over here, so if you need me you can just call."

"Yes, ma'am", Tony replied and smiled.

"Why did you want to see me?" Sarah asked once Rose was gone.

"We missed you, Sarah", Gibbs said with a gentle smile playing on his lips. "And there's something we wanted to tell you."

"What?"

"Let's go sit on the bench over there, okay?"

Gibbs pointed at a bench that was placed under a tree not far from them and held out his hand for Sarah to take. She stared at it for a long time before she tentatively put her hand in it and felt the slightly chapped and calloused skin of Gibbs' palm. She wondered what it was they were going to tell her and was almost afraid to find out. When grown-ups said they wanted to tell her something it never meant anything good. Why should this time be any different? One part of her wanted to run away so that she wouldn't have to face whatever was coming, but the other part answered to the kindness in Gibbs' blue eyes and recognized the feeling of safety that seemed to radiate from Tony, just as it had the first time she had met them.

"It's okay, Sarah", Tony said then as if he had been able to read her mind. "I promise."

Gibbs stood up and Sarah let him lead her over to the bench. She wondered what it was they were going to tell her but didn't want to hope that it was what she wanted it to be. It rarely was anyway.

* * *

**TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews, guys. You're the best.  
By the way, I've made a banner to this story. If you want to see it I've put up a direct link in my profile.**

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**Chapter 14**

"So what is it you want to tell me?" Sarah asked once the three of them sat on the bench, Sarah placed in the middle of the two men.

Tony was just about to ask "What do you think it is?" when he saw the look in the girls eyes. She was all on edge, so instead he just smile reassuringly instead and said:

"What would you say if we told you that we'd like to adopt you?"

Sarah's eyes grew very big. Could it be true? She wanted it to be true, and she could see in Tony's eyes that it was true, but still she couldn't make herself believe it. Not completely.

"Don't lie to me", she said with a dark voice. "I hate it when grown-ups lie to me."

"We're not lying, Sarah", Gibbs said. "We want you to be our daughter. We would never lie to you about something like that. I promise."

"Do grown-ups lie to you often, Sarah?" Tony asked carefully and cocked his head to better be able to look her in the eyes. Sarah hesitated. No one at the orphanage had ever lied to her, but...

"Mommy and Daddy always did", she said. "They used to make me promises and then they said that they had never promised me anything, or said that they had promised me something else. They never kept their words!"

"Not everyone are like that, Sarah", Gibbs said and got a dark look from the girl.

"How would you know?" she asked.

"I just know. Sometimes you just need to have a little faith. I know it must be hard for you to believe right now, but..."

Sarah suddenly got off the bench and backed away while she yelled at the agents: "Stop try to understand how I feel! You grown-ups always do that! You are all the same!"

She spun around and ran towards the park. Her emotions raged inside her and she just wanted to get away from them for a while. She heard them shout after her, but she kept running. Truth be told, she was afraid. She was afraid to be abandoned again. She wanted a family so bad, and ever since she had met Tony she'd wanted him to be her father, him and Jethro both, but the fear of being neglected and abandoned again was too strong.

Suddenly she felt too strong hands grab her from behind and heave her up in the air. She screamed and wriggled fiercely to try to free herself but the grip was strong and wouldn't let go. Then she was hugged close to a warm, flat chest as strong arms encircled her and held her firmly but gently in place.

"Let me go!" she screamed and started to squirm, but the hold on her just tightened.

"Sarah, stop it!" Tony's voice said close to her ear. "I won't let you go! It's okay. Everything will be okay."

Tony continued mumbling comforting nonsense words in Sarah's ear and after a time that felt like forever he felt her relax against him. She wrapped her little arms tightly around his neck and started to cry, her tears soaking through his shirt. Tony was momentarily brought back to the moment when he first held Sarah in his arms and once again he hummed the tune his grandmother used to sing for him when he was a boy. He kept humming until her crying stopped and she hung limp in his arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Everything will be alright", Tony mumbled and planted a kiss on Sarah's temple. "I promise, and I will keep that promise. I would never lie to you. None of us would. Never."

"I don't believe you", Sarah shot back. "Everybody lies."

"I know. But neither Jethro nor me would ever lie about things that are important, and believe it or not, but you have become very important to us. We want to help you, Sarah. We want you to be a part of our family."

Gibbs watched Tony from afar and was amazed by how natural his lover seemed in his role as a parent, because Tony was truly acting like a father right now. His baby girl was hurting and all Tony could think of was to find some way to make her happy again. Gibbs knew how it was like; he had gone through the same with Kelly, after all. Many times.

Gibbs was just about to walk over to Tony when the younger man turned around and came walking back to him, Sarah still held securely in his arms. He met Gibbs eyes and smiled reassuringly, letting the older man know that everything was fine.

"We happened to scare her a little, Jet", Tony said softly as soon as he reached his lover. "But I think she's okay now."

"Are you okay, Sarah?" Gibbs asked sincerely and carefully put a hand on Sarah's back.

"Yeah", Sarah mumbled and looked up at him. "Do you really want me in your family?"

"We do, Sarah", Gibbs said and caressed her hair. "We really do."

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sarah took a few deep breaths while she let the realization of it all sink in, and she saw the truth of it in both Gibbs' and Tony's eyes. They weren't lying to her. She allowed herself to believe that now.

She was going to have a family.

"You think we should go talk to Hansen now?" Tony asked Gibbs. "I'd like to know what will happen next."

"Aren't you going to take me home?" Sarah said and looked at Tony with a worried wrinkle on her brow.

"We will, Sarah, but I don't know if we can do it today", he replied. "We'll have to talk to Mr. Hansen first."

"I'll go and see if I can find out if Hansen is available or not", Gibbs told Tony. "You two stay here."

Tony nodded and watched Gibbs walk off before he went over to the bench with Sarah. He sat down with Sarah in his lap, but after a moment she slid off to sit beside him, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs. Tony watched Sarah in silence as she looked down at her shoes and started to play with her laces. She seemed a little nervous, but Tony couldn't blame her for it. He figured that if he had been in her situation when he was a kid, he'd be nervous too. This was a new situation for her. Her entire life was about to change again, and he just hoped that he and Gibbs had made the right decision of telling her about the adoption before they had consulted Hansen on the matter. But it was too late to worry about that now.

"Why did you choose me?"

Sarah's sudden question threw Tony off balance for a moment. He blinked, at first not sure what to say, but when she looked up at him to get her answer he just smiled at her and said the only thing he could think of. The truth.

"We chose you because I could feel the moment I met you that you belong with us", he said. "So did Jet. Even though it's not official yet, you are our daughter. We love you, Sarah, and we want to give you the family you deserve. I hope you believe that."

Sarah nodded her head yes, but Tony could still see the small glint of doubt in her eyes. He frowned and wondered what the next steps in this process would be. Hansen had said that it could take months before they could take Sarah home, but Tony didn't think that either of them could wait that long, and he promised both himself and Sarah that he and Jet would do everything they could to speed things up if it came to that. He would be damned if he'd let Sarah stay at the orphanage longer that necessary.

"Hey", he said then and gently touched Sarah's shoulder to get her attention. "Would you like me to tell you about your knew home?"

Sarah gave him an affirmative nod and Tony started to describe the house for her, putting in as much details as he could, especially about Sarah's room. It was almost finished now. It was just the furniture that had to be put in, and Tony was positive that they'd get it finished within the next couple of days. They simply had to.

Gibbs returned a short while later and told Tony that Mark Hansen could see them now, and that he wanted them to leave Sarah with one of the care takers for the time being, or Archie if he was around. Sarah insisted on Archie and the next moment the old gardener came walking towards them. Both Gibbs and Tony promised that they'd try not to take too long before Sarah scooted off the bench and ran over to the old man. Tony looked after her for a while before following Gibbs up to the main building, hoping that whatever Mark was going to tell them meant that they could take Sarah home ASAP.

**TBC**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Sorry about the major delay, but I've had heaps of school work that needed to be done. At last I managed to find a gap to finish this chapter, but the next one won't be up until school is over. As you all know, fanfiction writing won't get me into college.

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**Chapter 16**

Tony and Gibbs managed to find Mark Hansen's office without much problem and were warmly greeted by the social worker as soon as they walked through the door. He stood up to shake their hands with a warm smile on his face and then he bid them to take a seat in the two chairs in front the desk.

"So, was Sarah happy to see you two again?" Mark asked while he sat down again

"We think so", Tony said. "She seemed a little reserved at first. It almost seemed as if she didn't really believe that we're here to see her."

"Gibbs told me that you've already told Sarah about the adoption. I probably should have told you sooner that I would've liked to discuss some matters before you did, but it's too late to do anything about that know. How did she take it?"

"To tell you the truth, she thought we lied, and I also think she got a little scared. She tried to run from us, but I managed to catch her before she got too far."

"Did you manage to calm her down?"

"Yeah. It took a little while though, but I managed to convince her that we weren't lying. I told her that we'd never lie to her about anything that's this important."

"Does she believe you know?"

"She does", Gibbs said and gave Mark an impatient look. "So can you please tell us how we'll proceed from here? When can we take her home?"

"Yes, I understand that you must be eager to know that", Mark said and gave both Gibbs and Tony a calming smile. "And I can't see why there should be any problems for you to take her home next weekend. There is some paperwork for you to fill in that have to be processed first, but once it's done, Sarah will officially be your daughter."

Tony blinked in surprise and gave Mark a somewhat stunned look. "Next weekend?" he said. "We'll have her home next weekend?"

"You sure will, Tony."

"But I thought you said this could take months."

"It could have if the board hadn't decided that you could adopt Sarah right away. If you had had to wait that long I would have told you so sooner, but as it is, you can have Sarah home in a matter of days."

Tony felt as if a huge weight lifted off his shoulder and he couldn't stop the huge, happy grin that lit up his face. He looked at Gibbs and saw that his lover was smiling too and then they turned back to Mark.

"We're very happy to hear that, Mark", Gibbs said. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I have a feeling that you two will be the best parents that girl could ever wish for. I can tell that you care for her a great deal and I hope I'm right to assume that you already love her."

"We do", Tony replied. "A lot. We want to show her what a real family is and now we can't wait to take her home."

"Your waiting will soon be over. I guess you want to go back out to her now?"

"Yes, we do."

"Alright, then. I'll make sure to have the paperwork ready for you when you decide to leave. Now go and spend some time whit your daughter."

**XxX**

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Archie's attention and he turned his head in time to see the two men exit the main building and come walking towards him and Sarah, who was so occupied with the task Archie had given her that she hadn't noticed them yet. Archie took the opportunity to study the two who most likely would take his girl home very soon. Sarah had told Archie about the adoption and the old gardener wondered what kind of men those two were. He had no doubt that they were good men, just the fact that they already had earned Sarah's trust spoke of that, but he still wondered if they were good enough for the girl he had come to care about.

They both seemed happy about something, and Archie had a feeling that whatever they had talked to Mark about had something to do with it. The lad was all smiles and talked eagerly with his partner, and even though he was more calm and reserved, Archie could still see that he too was happy.

"They have come out now, lass", he told Sarah, who immediately looked up from the bush she was helping Archie to trim. It didn't take long before Tony and Jethro spotted Sarah in return and Archie saw how Tony lit up and practically ran over to where Sarah and after giving Archie a cursory nod he crouched down beside the girl. Archie watched them and smiled to himself when he saw the love in Tony's eyes as he spoke to Sarah.

"I hear that you two are going to adopt the lass", Archie said to Gibbs once he had joined them.

"That's right", Gibbs replied. "We're taking her home next week."

"I'm happy to hear that. She deserves a good home."

Gibbs nodded and looked past Archie at Tony, who was now holding Sarah in his arms again, hugging her close. Then he let go of her and gave her a loving smile before he put her down on the ground again. Then Sarah looked up at Gibbs and slowly came walking over to him.

"Did Tony tell you that you're coming home with us soon?" he asked as he crouched down to her level.

"Yeah", Sarah said and nodded. "Next week."

"That's right."

"Why can't I come home with you now?"

"We'd want that too, Sarah, but those who run this place wants us to follow their rules and make sure that you're officially our daughter first."

"What does 'officially' mean?"

"It means that Mark has to write down that you're their daughter on a piece of paper before your dads can take you home", Archie explained. "And then other has to take a look at it to make sure that everything is in order, and those things take time."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Because those who works in offices can be really slow", Gibbs said.

"Why?"

"Because they enjoy annoying people", Tony said. "It's a private game they play, and no one but them understands the rules, so the rest of us have no other choice but to stick up with it."

Sarah frowned while she processed what she'd just learned, and then she nodded that she understood. Tony smiled at her, and then he asked her to show him and Gibbs how to trim the bushes.

A few hours later Gibbs knew it was time for him and Tony to leave if they wanted to return back home at a reasonable hour. Both of them shook hands with Archie and then said a proper goodbye to Sarah, promising her that they'd see her soon. They then left their girl in the gardeners care and reluctantly went back to their car to drive home.

Next weekend couldn't come fast enough.

**TBC**


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry about yet another delay. RL kept on interfering, among other things.

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**Chapter 17**

Sarah sat on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, watching Rose pack her few personal belongings into a box. She'd been told that her fathers would arrive at 12 o'clock and Rose had just said that it was now just a few minutes past 11. In less than an hour her new fathers would come and then she'd be taken home.

Sarah was both excited and nervous, even a little scared. To her, getting a new family had happened so fast and she feared that Tony and Gibbs wasn't going to show up, that they weren't going to take her home after all. She had talked to Archie about it, even though it took a lot of persuasion from the old gardeners side to get her to tell him about her worries, and he had just simply told her to get those foolish thoughts out of her head since it had been cleared to all that her fathers had been determined to adopt her no matter what, which meant that they would come. Sarah had been calmed by Archie's words but a small sliver of doubt still lingered and it wasn't going to disappear until her fathers arrived.

"Are you eager to go home, Sarah?" Rose asked then and smiled at the girl, who shyly smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah."

"I bet your new fathers are just as eager to take you home", Rose continued. "I think they're hurrying as much as they can so they'll be here in time. You'll see."

Sarah nodded and glanced up at the big clock that hung over the door. "What time is it now?"

"Five minutes past 11", Rose said and had to suppress a smile when she saw the frown on Sarah's face. "Is the time going too slow?"

Sarah nodded and glared at the clock as if she tried to will the time to go faster.

"Tell you what", Rose said then, "why don't you go and look for Archie while I finish packing? I think he'd like to see you one last time before you go."

"He would."

Sarah looked up at the sound of Archie's voice and smiled when she saw the old gardener standing in the doorway.

"I guess that you won't mind if I take Sarah down to my cabin for a while, then?" Archie asked Rose, who smiled and shook her head.

"Not at all", she said. "I'll come and get her when her fathers are here."

Archie grunted in reply and waited for Sarah to join him before he turned around and walked off down the hall with Sarah trotting beside him.

Archie felt sad about having to part with the girl that he'd come to care so much about, but he was still very happy for her. She deserved to come to a loving home and from what he could tell from his brief meetings with her father, that was exactly what she would get.

They walked in silence until they reached Archie's cabin at the far end of the grounds. Sarah had only been there a few times but she liked it there. The cabin only consisted of a bedroom, a small bathroom and a larger room that worked as both a kitchen, a living room and dining area. Paintings of Scotland hung on the walls together with deer antlers and on the mantle above the fireplace stood a few keepsakes that Sarah knew Archie held very dear.

"I have something for you, lass", Archie said, which turned Sarah's attention back to him, and moved over to a cupboard that was standing in a corner. He reached up to the top and took down a long, thin item wrapped in a piece of cloth which he brought over to the girl.

"What is it?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Open it."

Sarah accepted the gift and removed the cloth to reveal a simple flute, the same flute she'd heard Archie play on so many times when she'd spent time with him after his work day was over.

"I want you to have this, lass", Archie said when Sarah looked up at him. "As something to remember me by."

Sarah mumbled a thank you and looked down at the flute. Suddenly it hit her that she was actually leaving and that she'd probably never see Archie again. She felt her chest tighten and before she knew it, Archie had picked her up and held her close. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder as she felt her tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"There, there, lass", Archie mumbled and sat down on a chair with Sarah on his lap. "You'll see me again."

"I will?" Sarah asked and lifted her head from Archie's shoulder.

"Of course you will."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

Archie dried the tears off Sarah's face and then proceeded with teaching Sarah how to play a simple tune on the flute. They were both so occupied by it that they didn't notice how the time flew by and they both jumped a little when a light knock on the door suddenly interrupted them and Rose stepped in side.

"Sarah, your fathers are here", she said and gave Archie a small smile. "It's time to go."

"Are they outside?" Sarah asked and slid off Archie's lap.

"I asked them to wait by the car, but you better hurry. They're really eager to take you home."

"Do you want me to come with you, lass?" Archie asked and got a little nod from Sarah. "Let's go, then. We can't keep your fathers waiting."

**XxX**

"Here she comes, Tony."

Tony turned around and smiled when he saw his daughter walking towards him and Gibbs together with Rose and the gardener, Archie he remember his name was. She was holding the Archie's hand and Tony noticed that she had a somewhat sad expression on her face and that her eyes where kept on the ground. Tony wondered why until he saw a grim expression on the old man's face and realized that Sarah was sad because she was leaving Archie. He knew that they were close and made a silent promise that he'd make sure that Sarah would see Archie again.

Suddenly Sarah raised her head and a smile appeared on her face when she spotted her new fathers. She looked up at the old man who said something to her that Tony couldn't catch and then she let go of his hand and started to run. Tony took a few steps forward and crouched down just when Sarah reached him and had to brace himself for the impact when she flung herself around his neck.

"Daddy!"

Taken by surprise by Sarah's exclamation, Tony stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around Sarah's body. He hadn't expected that at all, but hearing that single word and knowing that it was meant for him made something click inside of Tony, as if a missing piece of him that he didn't know he'd lost now had been put back in place.

"Hi, Sarah", Gibbs said softly and stepped up to Tony and the girl. "Are you ready to go home?"

Sarah lifted her head from Tony's shoulder and nodded, but suddenly she turned serious and looked over her shoulder at Archie, who was standing a few feet away to give the family some privacy. Gibbs sensed what Sarah wanted and gently touched her shoulder to get her attention.

"Do you want to say good-bye?" he asked and got an affirmative nod.

Tony put Sarah back on the ground and watched her run back to Archie, who knelt to the ground to give the girl a hug. They spoke silently for a moment and then Archie followed Sarah back to Tony and Gibbs.

"You two better take good care of the lass", he said and looked Gibbs straight in the eyes.

"We will", Gibbs vowed and took Archie's offered hand in a firm grip. "I promise."

"Here", Tony said and handed Archie a folded piece of paper. "I have written our phone number and address on there. I think Sarah would be happy if you'd give her call sometimes, an maybe even visit."

Archie took the note and gave Tony a short nod. He said a final good-bye to Sarah and then stepped back so that Rose could do the same, and then it was time for the family to leave. He watched Sarah being put in the child's seat in the back of the car and a few moments later it drove away. Archie waved until he couldn't see it anymore and felt unshed tears burn behind his eyes. He swallowed hard and looked down when he felt a hand on his arm to see Rose standing beside him, smiling at him.

"Tell you what, Rose", he mumbled and gave her a sad smile in return. "I am going to miss that girl."

"Me too, Archie", she said. "Me too."

**TBC**

* * *

There are still a chapter or two left of this story, but I've started a request/ideas thread for future stories in this 'verse in my LJ. A link to the thread can be found in my profile.


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